Phones

Sony Xperia Z Released in Europe ahead of Expected Schedule

Sony’s co-flagship Xperia Z was released a few days before most had expected it to drop in Europe. Reports have emerged of the Xperia Z becoming available in France, continuing the slow, yet steady release schedule Sony has mapped out for its waterproof 5-incher.

Originally, the Xperia Z was expected to be released in Europe on February 28, although that release date was accelerated to February 21 last week. With XperiaBlog reporting that the Z is now available in France, it looks like things are going much smoother than anticipated, and release dates in other major markets should follow soon.

The Xperia Z is now selling at Sony’s French site, and both black and white flavors are in stock. Pricing for the handset is set at 649 Euros. The third flavor, a purple version of the Xperia Z, is presently out of stock, and an exclusive on French mobile carrier SFR. It isn’t sure when the Xperia Z will be out in Germany, as some have speculated the German release would follow soon after the device lands in France.

On the surface, the Xperia Z looks like your average 5-inch smartphone with 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution. Its quad-core processor and 2 GB RAM backs up this assumption. Unlike other 5-inch, 1080p phones, the Xperia Z comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera. And more importantly, it’s water and dust-resistant, a feature that most other phones, regardless of size or other features/specs, don’t come with.